After Revealing He Couldn’t Read, Former Convict Is Inspiring Others on TikTok — Here’s How (Exclusive)

“For most of my life, I never even thought about owning a book,” Oliver James, who estimates he now reads at a third-grade level, tells PEOPLE

As he stood on the stage of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington in October, Oliver James wanted to pinch himself. Instead, the 35-year-old motivational speaker, who received an award from the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy, took a deep breath before reading from the teleprompter.

“I was nervous,” Oliver tells PEOPLE in this week’s issue. “But knowing that I was about to do something in front of all these people that I wasn’t very good at was an exhilarating kind of nervousness that I’ll never forget.”

Just a year ago, James would have had a hard time reading a restaurant menu, let alone a teleprompter. That all changed in October 2022, when he began his TikTok post with a simple but brutally honest confession: “What’s up? I can’t read.”

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Oliver James receives the Barbara Bush National Literacy Honor Award from Barbara Bush Foundation President Emeritus Doro Bush Koch and Interim President and CEO Andrew Roberts.

Tony Powell

Overnight, James — who spent his early 20s in prison for gun trafficking — became a viral sensation when he began posting videos of himself sitting in his van as he painstakingly plowed through one book after another. Today, he has more than 273,000 followers on TikTok.

“I never thought it would blow up like it did,” James tells PEOPLE. “I only started this journey to help myself, but it turned out I was helping tons of kids and even adults who were struggling with reading like I was.”

For more of James’ story, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday, or subscribe here.

Growing up poor in Bethlehem, Pa., where his single mother barely made ends meet, James says his elementary school experience was more about survival than education.

He had ADHD and other learning disabilities and was placed in a separate special education classroom, where he says he spent his days trying to stay away from his teachers. “I ended up graduating high school without knowing how to read and nobody cared,” he says.

Oliver James.

Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times via Getty

After his release from prison in 2014, James became a fitness instructor and moved to California with his longtime girlfriend Anne Halkias, who had no idea he couldn’t read until he told her in October 2022.

“That was my big secret,” says James, who credits Halkias, 39, with prompting him to share his desire to become literate on social media. “I hid it from everyone.”

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James — who estimates he’s now reading at a third-grade level — is devouring both hardback and paperback and is determined to finish about a hundred titles this year.

“My 10-year-old reads better than me,” says James. “But I manage to get about five hours a day to read and I’ve just finished my 81st book.”

“For most of my life, I never even thought about owning a book,” he admits. “Now I have two bookshelves full of about 300 books.”

Oliver James and Anne Halkias.

Courtesy of Anna Halkias

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After a whirlwind last year, James says his journey is just beginning — and he’s determined to do whatever he can to continue motivating millions of other adults like him.

“Every time I get a message from someone who says, ‘Yo, I started reading today because of you,’ I tell myself, this is priceless,” he says. “I really don’t need anything else.”

Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education